Devices of this type are known in the prior art, particularly through the patent application FR9809291. This application discloses a device for mounting weather stripping on a vehicle, essentially comprising a template which can be put in contact with the vehicle body; a plate, called a carriage in the patent application, carried by the template and capable of being displaced thereon in order to ensure the positioning of the weather stripping; and a means for guiding and orienting the plate on the template.
The means for guiding and orienting the plate includes three rails connected to the template. The first rail, the shape of which corresponds to the surface receiving the weather stripping, defines the trajectory to be followed by the plate along the vehicle body. The second rail is used to maintain the force for applying the weather stripping on its receiving surface along a direction that is always normal to the receiving surface. The third rail ensures, according to a direction transverse to the vehicle, the correct positioning of the plate with respect to the vehicle so that the weather stripping is perfectly flush with the geometry of the body.
This device is typically used in order to place the weather stripping around the upper part of the door frames of the vehicle. The weather stripping is used, on the one hand, to prevent water from running off along the window or from penetrating into the passenger space and, on the other hand, to limit aerodynamic noise.
This device has been used successfully on automobile assembly lines and has led to a very clear increase in the quality of positioning of the weather stripping.
It enables one to maintain the parameters important for the quality of positioning within the recommended ranges during the entire duration of the operation. In contrast, during an operation of manually applying the weather stripping on the body, it is difficult to maintain a constant positioning quality over the entire surface, and certain portions of the weather stripping adhere poorly. In the long term, this results in detachment of the weather stripping, at least in certain spots.
The main defect of the device of patent application FR9809291 derives from the need to invest in and control, on the same assembly line, a number of tools suited to different car models or to different versions of the same model.
This disadvantage will become increasingly troublesome in the future with the institution of flexible lines, capable of producing an even broader range of vehicles.